Prison Changes You
by tearsofamiko
Summary: Maybe the darkness had always been there. ONE-SHOT


Title: Prison Changes You

Author: Tearsofamiko

Rating: K

Disclaimer:

Spoilers: _Frame Up, _withreferencesto_ Kill Ari, part 1_ and _Under_ _Covers_

Summary: Maybe the darkness had always been there.

A/N: Poor naïve McGeek...he's no match for angry-Tony...

* * *

He didn't know what he'd expected, but it wasn't this. Tony was never this...this...McGee wasn't really sure what this was, but it wasn't Tony.

And he scared him.

He'd expected jokes and sarcastic comments, wry wit and biting cynicism. What he'd found was so far from what he expected, he was still reeling. And, with the metal bar against his throat and Tony's arm around his neck, he was beginning to feel he needed to get a handle on the situation.

"Prison changes a man," Tony had said, just a second ago, and McGee believed him. At least, he hoped that was the only thing that had put that darkness, that edge in Tony's eyes. He really didn't want to consider where such...bitterness and anger came from.

He'd known him for three years, had worked alongside him, had put up with his teasing for three years and there had never been any hint of any of this..._darkness_ during that time. Oh, he'd been raw, edgy after Kate died, but that was understandable. None of them had been right after Kate died. But, now that McGee thought about it, maybe that had been his first hint of the darkness within Tony, the darkness that was well hidden and normally dealt with in private. Actually...there'd been something off about him when they'd found him in that hotel after Ziva and his married assassin cover was blown, too.

His heartbeat sped up as he realized that, maybe he didn't really know his partner all that well after all. Maybe Tony wasn't the flippant, blithe playboy he acted each day. Maybe this anger and bitterness was the real Tony and Tim had just been too blind to see it. He came to this conclusion abruptly, a brick-wall in his thought processes too sudden to account for.

Vaguely, Tim noticed something flicker in Tony's green eyes. Suddenly, shutters lowered in the other man's gaze and the arm banding around his neck disappeared. Tony stepped back and turned away, pacing the small confines of his cell. Tim wasn't quite sure what to do, hesitant after being faced with this new, dangerous Tony. He stood there, rubbing his neck, watching his partner pace like a caged animal, all raw, loosely reined energy.

"Hey, Tony –" McGee started, wanting to fix this, to push the magic button and get his carefree friend back.

"Go away, Probie," was the reply and Tony didn't even face him to give it. He stood in the center of the cell, looking out the window as his words echoed around them, the tiredness and absolute lack of emotion landing heavily in the empty space.

"I never thought you did it," McGee murmured, upset by how hopeless the man before him seemed, even with the positive news he'd brought.

"Whatever makes you happy, Tim," Tony responded, this time favoring the junior agent with a glance, green eyes narrowed to slits as he flopped down on the cot to stare at the ceiling. "Whatever makes you happy."

The use of his first name unnerved him more than anything Tony had done before and McGee backed up a step or two and turned to head down the hallway to the elevator. He wasn't sure how to handle Tony when he was like this, wanted Gibbs to come back and rein Tony in. So he retreated, headed back to headquarters. Maybe Abby needed his help in the lab...

As he punched the button for the elevator, it slid open to reveal Fornell. McGee's heart sank at the unreadable expression on his face, as the FBI agent motioned for a guard and headed down to Tony's cell. Tim followed; he had to see what Fornell was there for. What if the girl had been murdered, what if he was here to –. The guard opened the cell door and the first true DiNozzo smile since this whole thing began appeared on Tony's face.

"I never thought I'd say this...but I'm so happy to see you, Fornell!" Tony said as he bounced off the cot and over to the agent, presenting him the harmonica Chip had sent down. The grin never left his face and McGee found a similar one beginning to grace his own.

"That makes one of us, DiNozzo," the agent replied as Tony swung an arm over McGee's shoulders and they headed to the elevator. They walked off down the hallway, Tony quoting movies at him, all good nature restored.

"'What we have here is a failure to communicate."'

"Never seen it."

"Probie!"

Harmonica music floated behind them, following them out of the lock-up and into the elevator, keeping the triumph of the moment from really registering for Tim. Not that he wasn't happy that his friend wasn't a killer, but the whole situation had brought up too many questions. He kept up with Tony's playful banter, but it wasn't part of the continuous circle of thoughts cycling through Tim's head.

How well did Tim really know DiNozzo?

What caused the darkness so readily apparent in stressful situations?

And how much had prison _really_ changed the man he worked with? Was it merely a footnote in NCIS life? Or was it a new part of the man who sat next to him daily? McGee focused on the triumph and happiness of the situation and forcibly forgot his train of thought.

He wasn't sure, didn't really want to know how changed Tony was, but he trusted the man to have his six, no matter what the situation was.

* * *

A/N: The movie reference is, of course, to _Cool Hand Luke_. Tony's the one that brings it up in the show. Oh, and I have no clue who's lock-up Tony was in (FBI or NCIS) or how it's laid out, so I guessed that it was at NCIS...call it 'poetic license' if you wish.


End file.
